The Portland Trail Blazers will have to wait a little bit longer to see what they have in seventh overall pick Shaedon Sharpe.
The team announced Saturday that an MRI revealed Sharpe suffered a small labral tear in his left shoulder during Portland’s Summer League game against the Detroit Pistons on July 7. He’ll miss the rest of the Trail Blazers’ Summer League games and will be reevaluated in 10-14 days, according to the team.
Sharpe was considered one of the biggest mysteries of the 2022 NBA draft after not playing in an organized basketball team in over eight months despite leaving high school early and joining the University of Kentucky in 2021. He didn’t suit up for the Wildcats, but the Trail Blazers still took him with the No. 7 pick in this year’s draft.
Sharpe saw some action in the first quarter against the Pistons before being substituted out of the game. But he never returned to the court after the team announced Sharpe suffered a left shoulder injury. Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes reported soon after Sharpe would undergo an MRI to determine the damage done to his shoulder.
Blazers’ assistant coach Steve Hetzel, who is coaching the team’s Summer League squad, admitted he didn’t know when the injury occurred.
“I didn’t see the injury exactly, I think he hit it on the floor,” Hetzel said after the game. “Walking off the court at halftime, he said he felt good, but we want to be cautious with all our players so we’re going to do our due diligence and figure it out.”
Sharpe finished the game with just two points on three shots in five minutes.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe will miss at least another 10 days with a left shoulder injury. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
